Dallas Cop Killings Denounced in Illinois; Fellow Officers in Mourning (UPDATED)

• UPDATED (4:46 p.m. Friday, July 8)

While a former congressman was grabbing headlines with his ominously threatening online remarks following Thursday night's shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas, other notable individuals with Chicago and Illinois ties were expressing sympathy for the victims' families and offering their support to law enforcement.

In Chicago, police officers have been asked to wear mourning bands. The flags are flying at half-staff.

In some cases, the responses, such as the statement released by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, asked for people not to forget about the recent fatal shootings of unarmed black men. The Dallas shooting happened during a protest rally over the deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

Chicago activist and performer Malcolm London spoke out against the Thursday's tragedy while defending the work of protesters and groups, such as Black Lives Matter. That movement was singled out in Twitter comment by Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from the state's 8th district. Walsh called members of the organization punks and told them, along with President Barack Obama, to watch out because "Real America is coming after you."

“Police officers who are doing the work right should be supported and affirmed,” London told the Chicago Tribune. “It is dangerous work, but it is work they signed up for. We have to remember that we still live in a time when you can say the wrong words to a police officer and be arrested, be brutalized or possibly killed.”

RELATED: 'Watch Out Obama,' Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh Tweets After Dallas Police Officers Murdered

Charlene Caruthers, an organizer for the Black Lives Matter movement in Chicago, also knocked down

“We have never called for, or supported, the killing of police officers or violence,” she said. “What we've demanded is a shift in the power that police hold over our lives and that does not require us to take up arms or kill police officers. What we demand does not require the death of police officers to happen.”

While offering his sympathy to the victims in the Dallas shooting, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) warned that using these recent events for political gain will derail attempts at trying to find future solutions:

Here's a look at what other state and local politicians and notables had to say online and in statements concerning Thursday's shooting:

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (D-IL)

Gov. Bruce Rauner

U.S. Rep. Robert Dold (R-10th District)

"Last night's ambush on Dallas police officers is a heartbreaking reminder of the risk and sacrifice our law enforcement personnel and their families undertake each and every day in service to our communities. Today, we grieve for those who fell in the line of duty, pray for the wounded and hope that unity prevails over divisiveness as we move forward through these deeply difficult times in our country.

"In the wake of the attack on our law enforcement community in Dallas, as well as the deeply disturbing shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week, let us be strong enough as a nation to pursue justice and unity while also recognizing the need to repair deep roots of division that have brought us to this moment.”

Brad Schneider, 10th District Democratic Candidate

Schneider also criticized Walsh's comments Thursday:

"Threatening the President of the United States is incredibly offensive and embarrassing. There is absolutely no place for this hateful and inflammatory rhetoric."

The Rev. Michael Pfleger

Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich

In a statement -- “An Eye for An Eye Makes the World Blind” -- Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich wrote:

Again we begin our day shocked by news of lives lost overnight — this time those of five police officers working to ensure the people of Dallas could assemble in a peaceful anti-violence protest.

This latest tragedy comes directly after deaths in Louisiana and Minnesota. Every corner of our land is in the grip of terror fueled by anger, hatred and mental illness and made possible by plentiful, powerful weapons. Anyone at any time can become a victim. It is time to break the cycle of violence and retaliation, of fear and powerlessness that puts more guns in our homes and on our streets.

Our hearts and minds need to change so our country can change.

The archbishop quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

"Let us pause today to remember not only these officers, but the principle of non-violence they died protecting," Cupich said. "And pledge, in their memory, to overcome hate and violence and work for peace today and every day."

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle

Referring to Thursday's shootings of Dallas police officers as an "assassination," Cook County Board Presient Toni Preckwinkle stated:

Like all Americans, I was horrified to learn today about the assassination of five law enforcement officers in Dallas last night. The officers were performing their official duties during a peaceful march protesting police-involved shootings of black men this week in Minnesota and Louisiana. All reports indicate the Dallas Police Department was handling its duties professionally and that interactions between officers and protesters were calm and well-managed. Police officers have an extremely difficult job, and nothing can justify what we saw in Dallas last night. While we must support the right of people to protest what they believe to be official misconduct, we must also strongly condemn violence and support the rule of law. The killing of these officers is an outrage and I extend my sympathies to the families of these officers and all of the residents of Dallas.

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